Opinion: A military parade could be a morale boost for our country

by Boris Epshteyn, Chief Political Analyst

boris_parade.00_00_14_38.Still001.jpg

EDITOR'S NOTE: Boris Epshteyn formerly served as a Senior Advisor to the Trump Campaign and served in the White House as Special Assistant to The President and Assistant Communications Director for Surrogate Operations.

WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) - The Pentagon is reviewing options for a military parade in Washington, D.C. The request to plan a parade came from President Trump.

The idea for a military parade did receive some criticism from the left and the right. Cost is an issue that has come up. The last parade in D.C. was in 1991 to celebrate the end of the first Gulf War. That parade cost about $21 million in today’s money. Considering last week’s spending deal added $500 billion to our budget, $21 million is well worth it to promote national unity and strength.

Military parades have a long and storied history in our country. They have celebrated the ending of the Civil War, victories in both World Wars and, of course, the victory in the first Gulf War in 1991.

A parade has to have a reason. I spoke about this with the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, Congressman Ron DeSantis (R-Fl).

"Well you know I look at the images from after we won World War II to see the parades in New York City and things like that, and I’m generally supportive of that. But I think you need the parade to actually celebrate something that the military has accomplished. And maybe that when ISIS is finally defeated in Syria and Iraq, maybe you bring the folks who were involved with that and do it," DeSantis said.

Here is the bottom line: a well-timed parade would be a celebration of America, including its military might. Our country can use a morale boost. A military parade would provide that while also projecting power to the rest of the world, for both our allies and enemies to see.